Our gender pay gap data
Our data for 2023/24
On 5 April 2024, RLB UK had 1,054 employees, a 15% year-on year-increase. Nine employees did not receive their full pay due to leave reasons, therefore the data for 1,045 employees was used to calculate our pay gap metrics and pay distribution quarter information. The gender balance of our UK full-pay employees is illustrated below:
We still have an imbalance across our pay quarters
Our gaps in female representation continue to be seen in two distinct areas of the business.
First, in the lower pay quarter (lowest 25% of earners), where we have seen a 62.5% increase in the number of female apprentices and graduates. We also have several female-dominated office support roles at this level, such as team administrators and executive assistants.
Second, in our upper pay quarter (highest 25% of earners) where all our directors and partners sit, we have seen slight movement with a small number of females moving into this pay quarter. This positive change, however, was offset by the number of female leavers in this pay quarter.
Many roles in the upper pay quarter are filled by employees who have worked in the industry for decades, and so the gender gap at the top of our organisation will persist until future generations of female employees progress through their careers.
Our mean gender pay gap has decreased slightly
This slight reduction indicates that the gap between the average man and woman decreased in 2023/24. There are two contributing factors for this.
First, the average pay of the 98 men leaving before April 2024 was higher than the overall male average. The average pay for the 188 joining during 2023/24 was lower than the overall male average due to an increase of male colleagues joining in lower-paid roles. There was a 64% increase in the number of male graduates that joined us in 2023/24.
Second, the career progression of women whose data has been used to compile both our 2023 and 2024 reports has been slightly better than that of their male counterparts.
Our median gender pay gap has increased slightly
Our headcount increased by 15% in 2023/24, with 60% of this growth entering our lower and lower middle pay quarters. This is intentional and reflective of our efforts to help develop and broaden our business and the industry’s talent pipeline through educational outreach programmes.
We also take part in initiatives to encourage more women and girls to study STEM subjects and seek careers in the industry – this is working, too, but has resulted in a slight increase in the representation of women below the median pay point at RLB.
Our mean and median gender bonus pay gaps have increased and remained the same respectively
In 2023/24, we paid bonuses to all eligible employees based on the success of the business. This increase reflects there are more males than females in partner roles and therefore more men who receive partnership bonuses.
Our gender pay gap has remained broadly constant overall
Notwithstanding the increased headcount and slight representational changes, there has been no significant fluctuation in our gender pay gap year on year.
We will continue to invest in initiatives such as our Leadership Development and People Management 101 programmes to improve female representation at senior leadership level.
We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure RLB remains a fair and equitable place to work for all our employees.
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